A Closer Look at Mike Boynton’s 5-Year, $6 Million Contract

• 2017-18: $1 million
• 2018-19: $1.1 million
• 2019-20: $1.2 million
• 2020-21: $1.3 million
• 2021-22: $1.4 million

Total: $6 million

There is also a list of bonuses that are pretty intriguing. From the ones that pay the least to the ones that pay the most.

• Big 12 Coach of the year: $25,000
• Make NCAA Tournament: $35,000
• Big 12 Tournament title: $35,000
• Each NCAA Tournament win: $40,000
• Big 12 regular season title: $50,000
• National Coach of the Year: $50,000

Seems like being a National COY is worth more than $50,000, but what do I know about contracts. Strangely, Boynton didn’t sign that contract until well into his first season as coach. I have no idea why — maybe it had to do with the FBI investigation on some level? — but he was without contract from when he was hired in March until the beginning of December.

Here’s how his 2017-18 salary compares to other Big 12 coaches.

I should note that Big 12 basketball coaching salaries are incredibly difficult to find and parse through. Bill Self’s contract looks like it was constructed by the IRS, and others like Scott Drew and Jamie Dixon are behind the private school paywall that precludes peons like us from peeking.

There is apparently only one reference to Chris Beard’s contract on the entire internet, and it actually pertains to his 2017 contract which was $1.3 million. I don’t think he got a significant raise before this season. I feel confident about Huggins, Kruger, Smart, Prohm and Weber because they all received relatively new deals in recent years.

Beard and Boynton, the two coaches doing the most with the least, are also the two lowest-paid by a wide margin. That won’t go on forever, though, especially if Beard’s Red Raiders end Kansas’ streak of Big 12 titles this season. Also, if OSU beats Kansas State on Wednesday night, both the Pokes and the Raiders will be in the top four (!) of the conference with just five games to go.

I don’t know if Boynton deserves a raise or a contract extension. We should probably let the season play out. But I do know in this league there is a threshold for performance at a high level. And Oklahoma State, whether it pays Boynton in the offseason, in the future or hires somebody else and pays them, will eventually have to meet it.